You are here

Slideshow: Cat Survives Severe Chemical Burns

When ASPCA staffer Rena L. saw a veterinarian cradling a tiny animal in her arms, she wondered, “Is that a turkey? What’s a turkey doing at the ASPCA Adoption Center?”

Then she realized: The tiny animal was in fact a cat—one who had suffered severe chemical burns on her back, scalp and other parts of her body. Kylie’s ears were singed off, and she couldn’t walk or close her red and cloudy eyes.

“My heart was completely broken,” remembers Rena, ASPCA Adoption Center Department Coordinator. “Ever since that moment, I’d go visit her when I was done with my office work, for 30 minutes to an hour.”

Late last year, Kylie was found hiding behind some bushes, quietly suffering, when two dogs sniffed her out while out on a walk. The dogs’ pet parent took the first step toward saving Kylie’s life: He brought her to ASPCA Animal Hospital. But Kylie’s struggle was far from over, and our veterinary staff didn’t know if she’d pull through.

“It was really touch-and-go with Kylie because she’d lost so much skin,” recalls ASPCA veterinarian Dr. Patricia Wagner, who treated Kylie. “We didn’t know if she’d be able to blink, or walk, ever again.”

Kylie needed several surgeries, specialist care and extensive treatment for her injuries. She spent months at the ASPCA Animal Hospital, where everyone fell in love with Kylie and her sweet, patient personality. “Everyone knew who Kylie was,” says Dr. Wagner. “There were so many people here pulling for her. We didn’t want to fail.”

Then one day it was clear to our veterinarians that Kylie’s recovery had turned a corner—she was out of the woods. In fact, Kylie was ready to continue her recovery in a foster home. Rena’s was an obvious choice. Rena began fostering Kylie in February, eagerly taking on the medical regime her new foster kitty required: pain medicine, fish oil and eye drops, all twice a day on a rigid schedule. To protect Kylie’s burns and promote healing, Rena purchased her a T-shirt. When the shirt didn’t quite fit, Rena had it tailored.

Today, Kylie is an integral part of Rena’s family and fast friends with Lafaille cats Gizmo and Cleopatra, a Beagle called Maya, and Baby Jin, a four-and-a-half-pound Chihuahua who is her playmate and constant companion. Rena continues to work with Dr. Wagner on Kylie’s treatment, and they’re hopeful she won’t need medication one day.

“Kylie will never, ever give up no matter what,” Rena says. “It was her spirit that got her through this. She’s really an incredible cat.”

God Bless her soul. I hope she makes progress and will find her forever home. I've already prayed for all the animals in the world and asked God to severely punish those that abuse, abandon and kill an animal, so I will leave it up to the almighty to take care of the person that did this to sweet Kylie.

You can see the true nature of someone in how they treat animals - those most innocent and most unable to protect themselves. Thank goodness there are organizations like the ASPCA and for the wonderful work they do.

Need kleenex for this one for sure. I am so very grateful for the staff and all people like you who have been given the hearts you have for animals, who need us so and are so vulnerable and dependent upon us humans - it is so sad what they go through at our hand. And yet, the people who do these things are lost, alone, angry inside by a world and a society ripe with evil and evil influences; my heart cries for them, too - they need compassion and love at a very deep level, one does not know what their life story is or what happened to them as children, who, just like animals, depend on our mercy, love, kindness, protection, and grace. What the world needs is Jesus. He love His animals NO DOUBT, and it hurts Him so that we do this; we've got to understand, the whole world needs Him!! He is the source of ALL life, His nature is loving and kind and merciful, forgiving, compassionate, patient. What we see in this world is evil, NOT His nature. He chooses to complete what He started on the cross through us, so people need to understand, we have a part to play in it, in bringing about His peaceable kingdom which will come one day, and we can perhaps bring it about sooner, by not cursing even those who do evil, that is Satan's ploy and it sucks us in to this divided scattered world of confusion and untruth and polarized the issue of good and evil thus feeding it. But back to the staff and how grateful I am to all you for your hearts - thank you for what you do, you carry the cross of Christ for His creation and you are to be commended!!!

Poor precious little Kylie. God Bless the dogs and the people who had the heart to take this beautiful little soul in and treat her like God meant for us to treat other creatures. I hope that whoever did this to her if it was on purpose is found and dealt with accordingly......

Poor precious little Kylie. God Bless the dogs and the people who had the heart to take this beautiful little soul in and treat her like God meant for us to treat other creatures. I hope that whoever did this to her if it was on purpose is found and dealt with accordingly......

Poor precious little Kylie. God Bless the dogs and the people who had the heart to take this beautiful little soul in and treat her like God meant for us to treat other creatures. I hope that whoever did this to her if it was on purpose is found and dealt with accordingly......